RSA: Chambers Takes Cisco Beyond Change

SAN FRANCISCO -- Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers
said the only constant about the security industry is that it will
change.

"We talk about protecting against viruses, phishing attacks, spyware
and malware today, but there will be a whole new set of terms for
network threats in about five years," Chambers said during his keynote
at the RSA Security Conference here this week. "You cannot predict who,
where or when, but you can predict how. And you can predict how these
components relate to each other."

John ChambersSource: Cisco

That's why the executive of the largest provider of Internet
networking equipment is transitioning his company from a pure-play
hardware and software provider to an overall "solutions" provider.

"We are moving from the intelligent network movement to one that is
based on virtualization," Chambers said. "There will be a time when you
will have no idea if the data on your laptop or handheld device was
processed or stored there or on a network somewhere else. So the
security implications are pretty broad."

Chambers said currently his company is addressing the transition by
focusing on three areas: IP as the overall
framework, consolidation of voice and video and the expanded role of
security.

"We will be acquiring aggressively and partnering aggressively,"
Chambers said, noting about a dozen purchases Cisco has done in the last
few years. Chambers tempered the company's reputation as an acquisition
machine by saying he hopes to develop internally about two-thirds of its
own security-related products.

In that vein, Chambers highlighted a completely new phase in Cisco's "Self-Defending Network" initiative. The new
portfolio, called "Adaptive Threat Defense," initially launched 10 new
products and corresponding services this week to prepare for future
multi-level attacks.

The CEO said work on the latest phase started close to seven years
ago and caused a lot of controversy within Cisco's management.

"There were those that said we should approach it in terms of
offering separate products because that is where our competition is
going," Chambers said. "The alternative was to architect an integrated
system that needed to be self defending and does not require human
intervention."

Cisco also announced a new Cisco Powered Network certification
Wednesday. The program is focused on helping companies converge voice
and data networks and evaluating managed virtual private network (VPN)
providers. The new certification requires an annual third-party, on-site
assessment to validate recommended levels of network performance
(including latency, jitter and packet loss) and customer support.

Chambers noted, however, that educating the way customers prepare for
security threats is just as important, no matter how good the
technology.

"If you change the technology but you don't change the underlying
business, or government and educational processes, then you haven't
changed a thing," Chambers said.